Liaison To Help Snare Film Projects

With the hope of bringing lucrative movie and television projects into the area, the County Commission agreed Thursday to spend $40,000 to help establish a film liaison office.

``We`re in the door, and it`s a first,`` said organizer Hugo Unruh, who has been pushing on and off for the project since 1983.

Unruh, president of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County Inc., hopes to get the office opened by March. Commissioners indicated they would allot about twice as much money next year if the effort proves successful.

The project, said Unruh, will help the area compete more effectively with Broward and Dade counties, which attract some 75 percent of Florida`s profitable film and television projects.

In 1985, for example, $114 million dollars was spent on 37 feature films produced in Florida. The film and television industry employed 21,000 people in the state as of September of this year.

``It`s a real spend-money-to-make-money proposition,`` said County Commissioner Karen Marcus. Film crews ``come here, sleep here, eat here and then they go home. It`s an industry we should welcome.``

Although commissioners generally expressed strong support, they denied a full funding request.

Unruh`s prepared report showed a request for $72,280 for the current fiscal year. But because the year will be partly over by the time the office begins, he actually sought $50,000 Thursday.

County Administrator Jan Winters recommended against any funding until the next fiscal year starts in October. Winters said he was reluctant because the money would come from contingency funds, often used for emergencies.

Commissioner Dorothy Wilken sided with Winters. But Commissioner Ken Adams, whose compromise was approved, suggested the $40,000 allotment for now with the understanding about future funding.

The private sector, meanwhile, has already pledged in-kind contributions that will provide a variety of services, hotel accommodations and marketing programs, said Unruh.

Those include $50,000 from the county`s Hotel and Motel Association; $20,000 from Discover Palm Beach County Inc.; and $5,000 from the Florida Motion Picture and Television Association, Gold Coast Chapter.

A film liaison office, staffed with a director and an assistant, would help develop film and commercial projects through heavy marketing; assist producers with site selection and services; and track and respond to trends in the industry.

Commissoner Carol Roberts said the effort inevitably would generate jobs.

``This could help raise permanent allied industries,`` said Roberts, adding that theatrical services now found only in large urban areas could end up in Palm Beach County

The action delighted Frank Eberling, an independent film producer and FMPTA`s former president. ``Now that the government has shown faith in us, we can start to get the word out and let the outside world know we welcome them.``